Shoe-heel



H. FINBERG.

SHOE HEEL. APPLICATION FILED APR.2Z, I920.

Patented June 21 VIIIIIIWKW AE DAVID E. FIN'BERG, or sit. Louis;MISSOURI;

SHOE-HEEL.

Application filed. April 22,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, DAVID H. FINBERG, acitizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Stateof- Missouri,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Heels, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart'hereof.

The present invention is directed to improvements in -heels of womensshoes, particularly to what are known as French heels, though of coursenot necessarily restricted thereto, the invention being applicable aswell to .heels'of mens andchildrens shoes. Theinvention finds specialapplication in the case of aluminum and other metallic heels which areusually formed with a bottom socket for receiving a plug to which theliftis-in turn secured either as an independent member or molded-theretoas an integral a part thereof. In the present embodiment of my inventionthe plug and lift are molded as a single piece,the same 'having embeddedtherein a stiffener member through which is passed'thescre'w (or nail)that directly; secures thesanie to theheel. The object of theimprovement is to provide a heel of the character referred to in whichthe stiffener member of the plug (andvlift) possesses the necessaryrigidity to prevent the" same from sufi'ering any distortion orbendingwith the driving home of the screw by whichthe plug and lift aresecured to the heel, thereby insuring a firm and even contact betweenthe engaging surfaces of the lift and tread of the heel, andelimi'natingthe danger of the outer edges of the lift peelingor curling.away from the tread. The advantages of 40' the improved heelconstruction will be better apparent from the followingdetaileddescription thereof in connection with the accompanyingdrawings inwhich-- Figure 1 representsa side elevation of a ladies" shoe showing myinvention applied thereto Fig. 2 isa ve'rti'oal middle longitudinalsection through the heel; Fig. dis a front elevation: of. the heel with'partsin section; Fig. 4' is a plan of the tread showing the stiffenermemberybut with the lift and plug thereof" removed; Fig! -5 isafbottomplan ofthe heel with parts broken away; Fig. 6 is a perspective of thelift and itsplug detached" from theheel; Fig. 7 is a perspective of thestiffener member detached; Fig. 8 is a sectional detail showingSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented. June 21, 1921.

1920. Serial No. 375,736.

a slight modification of the stiffener; and Fig. 9 is a perspectiveshowing acup form of stiffener.

Referring to the drawings, and for the present to Figs. 1 to 7.inclusive, S, represents the upper of a conventional shoe for women, C,the counter of the shoe, and H, the heel. In the present embodiment ofthe invention the heel is hollow, being. cast as a metallic shell ofaluminum or equivalent light material, the bottom or tread end of theheel being provided with aso'cket 1, having inwardly and upwardlyconverging boundingwalls and a substantially flat roof as shown. Thesaid socket receivesa plug 2with which is integrally cast or molded thelift3, a metallic stiffeningmember in the form of a spider 4 beingembedded in the material (preferably vulcanized rubber) enteringinto thecomposition of saidplug and lift. The arms of thespider 1 are formedwith outer terminal bent portions a which pass through the plug, thefree ends of said bent portions being substantially flusliwith the upperface of the; plug orthat directly engaging the roof of the socket 1.When the plug is fullyinserted in the socket the free ends of the bendsa restsubstant ially in the corners formed by the intersection of theroof of the socket with the bounding walls thereof, the body of thespider being disposed substantially along the dividing plane between theplug -2 and the lift 3. The lift 3 engages the tread of the heel on allsides as fully shown in the drawings.

The spider is provided with a central pep,

forated pocket 6 for receiving the head of the screw 5 by which the plug(and liftyis secured to the roof of the socket 1, there being sufficientmetal abovethe roof to take in the full length of the screw. Toaccommodate the screw,-th'e lift lSTQXIILGCliWltll an outwardly taperingcentral opening 72. the walls of which yield as the head of the screwforces its way through the lift with the driving of the screw into. theheel,--.the1walls" of the. opening subsequently (that is,after the headof the screw has been driven into the socket t) expandingtotheir normalpositionand closing over the head. The plug is preferably perforated(Fig. 6) to accommodate the screw, though the perforation=- is notabsolutely necessary asthe; screw m'ay drive its own way throughtheplug.

It will be seen from the-foregoing thatthe stiffener 4 (with bends islocated wholly within the confines of the socket 1,

the bends or acting as struts or braces there for when the screw 5 isdrlven home.

form an arch or dome concaved toward the roof of the socketl, the screw5 passing through the crown of said arch and through the plug into themetal above the roof, and drawing the stiffener firmly to the roof ofthe socket. The dome shape of the stiffener imparts to it a degree ofstiffness such as to insure against sagging or, concaving of the domeoutwardly andhence insuring against outward concaving of the lift. Inother words, it insures against any possible curling or bending of themarginal portions of of the spider and through the perforation of thesocket 6," so that not only does the stiffener become wholly embedded inthe rubber, but-the plug and lift portions '2, 3, become integrallyunited at all points except where separated by the solid portions of thespider. In thefifo'rm of the invention thus far described, the free endsof the bends a emerge from the plug as it were, and directly engage thewalls of thesooket 1; but it would be within the scope of the inventionto have the free ends of the bends terminate beneath the upper surfaceof the plug so as to be wholly embedded in the rubber. Such amodification is shown in Fig.8, where the bends a of the spider 4 do notemerge from the plug, but terminate in'close proximity to the uppersurface thereof. Again, in lieu of a spider-form of stiffener I maysubstitute a cup-shaped member conforming in outline to'the contour ofthe boundingwalls of the socket 1, the roof and walls of the cup "beingperforated to allow the rubber to flow freely through the perforationsand integrally unite the plug to the lift. Such a modification isillustrated in Fig. 9 where the stiffener10 is shown embedded in theplug indicatedby dotted lines to better bring I outfthe shape of thecup. The cup'lO is nothing more or less than the'spider f with thespaces between the arms filled in with metal, the" whole beingperforated to allow for the free flow of'the rubber therethrough.

The spider form of the stiffener is-perhaps to be preferred becauselighter and cheaper (having less metal) and being substantially of equalstiffness with the cup form shown in The spider arms with their terminalbends 0;

Fig. 9. The arch or dome of the stiffener spider (or cup) is hereinshown substantially flat, but I do not wish to be limited toany-particular form of arch. Neither do I wish to be limited to a plugand lift integrally united, as they may be secured together in otherways. In the examples beforeus the medial portion of the stiffener isdisposed along the dividing plane between the plug proper and the lift,but a slight variation from this plane would not constitute a departurefrom the invention, and any claims imposing this limitation should beinterpreted to includepositions on either side of said dividing plane.

Having described my invention what I claim is: r

1. In combination with a heel provided with a socket leading from thetread ofthe 'heel, a lift for the heel, a plug coupled'to the lift andsecured in the socket, anda stiffener member embedded in the lift andplug, the outer portions of the stiffener terminating within the compassof the confines of'the socket and bent toward thereof of the-socketsufficiently to communicate thereto the stresses imposed by theweightsustained by the heel. Y

2. In combination with a heel provided with a socket leading from thetread of the heel, a lift engaging the tread aronnd the socket, a plugintegrally united to the lift and secured in the socket,andastiffenermember embedded between the lift and plug, the outer portions of thestifiener'being directed toward and engaging the roof of'the' socket. 4

3. In combination with a heel provided with a socket leading from thetread of .the

heel, a liftfengaging thetread' around the socket, a plug integrallyunited to the lift and secured in the socket, and a stiffener memberembedded in the plug and arched toward the socket, the marginal edges ofthe stiffener being disposed adjacent the upper face of the plug or thatengaging the roof of the socket;

4C. In combination with a heel provided with a socket leading vfrom'thetread of the heel, said socket having a substantially'flat roof andbounding walls inter'secting said roof, a plug inserted in the socketand secured to the roof thereof, a-lift integrally united to the plugand engaging the tread of the heel around the socket, and a stiffenermember embedded in the materialcomposing the plug and lift and having amedial portion disposed substantially along the dividing plane betweenthe plug and lift, the outer portions of the-stiffener being bent towardand engaging the roof of the socket at the points of intersection ofsaid roof with the boundingwalls of the socket, and

confinedswholly within "the compass of the boundaries of the. socket. F

5. In a heel of the character described, a combination plug and lift,and a stiffening spider embedded therein, the arms of the spiderterminating in bends passing through the plug and terminating at theupper surface thereof.

6. In combination with a heel provided with a socket leading from thetread of the heel, a lift for the heel, a plug coupled to the lift andsecured in the socket, and a stiffener member disposed along the planeof division between the plug and lift and confined within the boundariesof the socket, the outer portions of the stiffener penetrating the plugand operating as struts to take up the stresses imposed on thestiffener.

7. In combination with a heel provided with a socket leading from thetread, an attachment comprising a plug and a lift, the plug entering thesocket and the lift engaging the tread around the socket, and an archedor dome-shaped stiffener member embedded in the plug and lift, the outerends of the stifiener communicating the stresses imposed on thestiffener to the walls of the socket.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID H. FINBERG.

Witnesses:

EMIL STAREK, ELSE M. SIEGEL.

